The present invention relates generally to a seat cushion. More particularly, the present invention relates to a portable seat cushion.
There are many forms of public and private transportation available allowing people to travel by land, water, or air. These forms of transportation involve the use of various types of vehicles that include, without limitation, automobiles, taxicabs, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles, trains, boats, and aircraft. All these various forms of transportation include a common element: seating.
Many individuals find riding public transportation, in particular, to be an uncomfortable experience due to the nature and construction of such seating. Seating on public transportation, such as a bus or train, can be designed with durability in mind rather than comfort. To that end, the materials used in the seats must stand up to heavy use and be easily maintained (e.g., quickly and easily cleaned). For example, a passenger seat on a bus, train or the like may be formed from a rigid plastic material with the seat generically sized and shaped so as to accommodate a broad range of people of various sizes and shapes. A passenger sitting in such a seat can be sitting on a hard, rigid seat surface and rest their back against a hard, rigid seatback surface having no lumbar support. Even if the seat has some cushioning, such cushioning may be minimal, and made from low-density materials easily worn down from heavy use that provide little in the way of actual cushioning once the seating has been “broken in” from heavy use. Even if a passenger seat is covered with a fabric, the fabric provides little in the way of comfort as the fabric, like the rest of the seat, is designed for durability and easy maintenance. With durability trumping comfort, sitting even for a short period of time in an uncomfortable seat can be a very unpleasant, and even painful, experience for numbers of individuals.
Furthermore, even seating designed for passenger comfort over long stretches of time, such as an airline passenger seat, may not be comfortable for many individuals because of a passenger's particular medical condition (e.g., a chronic back condition, hemorrhoids, etc.) that can be impacted by the passenger sitting for extended periods of time.
Uncomfortable seating is not just limited to the mode of transportation itself. Seating in a transportation terminal (e.g., bus terminal, train terminal, airport terminal, etc.) can also be uncomfortable as terminal seats may also be made from a rigid plastic material, and a passenger may find themselves having to sit for several hours while waiting for their bus, train, airplane or the like.
There is a need for a portable seat cushion. There is a further need for an improved portable seat cushion that can be easily stowed and deployed. There is an additional need for an improved portable seat cushion that provides cushioning. There is also a need for an improved portable seat cushion that provides lumbar support. There is a need for an improved portable seat cushion that provides adjustability. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides other related advantages.